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A−History
History · Highgate

Highgate’s post office opened in 1812, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns · #48 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Swanton Covered Railroad Bridge, the Douglas & Jarvis Patent Parabolic Truss Iron Bridge and the St. John's Episcopal Churdh. Its Register listings are the Swanton Covered Railroad Bridge, the Douglas & Jarvis Patent Parabolic Truss Iron Bridge and the St. John's Episcopal Churdh. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1790.

1812first post office
3on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Highgate’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Highgate began

When was Highgate founded?

1812

The Highgate post office opened in 1812, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, East Highgate (1834), Carmen (1894) and Highgate Falls (1936), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 103 in 17902020 census: 3,472214 years

How historic is Highgate?

A−

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Highgate post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Highgate’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Highgate is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #48 of 71 in Vermont. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Highgate’s overall grade.
Founding era1812, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194030.9% of homes (±9.4) · typical VT town 22.4% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register3 listings, 8.5 per 10,000 residents · typical VT town 147 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 79%
NewerOlder
Vermont towns of 2,500+ (71)Ahead of 33%

Vermont towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Vermont town has 147 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Highgate’s 8.5 sits below most of its state (19% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Highgate’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1850 and 1920, then more than doubled.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Highgate, and 5 old place names are still on the map.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1836–1865.On the map since 19145 editions of the USGS map, 1914 to 1987. Watch Highgate change.
★ What stands out · People over time

Highgate, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,500180018501900195020002,653 in 1850Low: 1,528

Lost a third of its people between 1850 and 1920, then more than doubled.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Highgate’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Highgate had its own post office from 1812 to 1936. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Highgate
1812–1936
East Highgate
1834–1963
Highgate Springs
1842–today
Highgate Center
1867–today
Carmen
1894–1894
Highgate Falls
1936–1960
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Beaulieus CornerEast HighgateHighgate CenterHighgate FallsHighgate Springs
Gone or out of use
Forest Hill Schoolschool
16cemeteries and burying grounds inside Highgate
BrewerCarmanCuller - CutlerDealEast HighgateHighgate CenterHighgate FallsHydeHydeJ G Saxes MonumentNew Saint LouisPlattSaint LouisSherwoodSternesStimet

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

By decade

Highgate, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1830s to the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1830s–1860s12 items
Map of the village of Highgate, Franklin County, state of Vermont1836Map of the village of Highgate, Franklin County, stat…MapFranklin House and its surroundings, Highgate Springs. East view.Alternate Title: Stereoscopic views of Vermont and oth…c. 1865Franklin House and its surroundings, Highgate Springs…Franklin House and its surroundings, Highgate Springs. East view.Alternate Title: Stereoscopic views of Vermont and oth…c. 1865Franklin House and its surroundings, Highgate Springs…Franklin House, Highgate Springs.Alternate Title: Green Mountain sceneryc. 1865Franklin House, Highgate Springs.Alternate Title: Gre…Franklin House, Highgate Springs.Alternate Title: Green Mountain sceneryc. 1865Franklin House, Highgate Springs.Alternate Title: Gre…Franklin House, Highgate Springs.Alternate Title: Green Mountain sceneryc. 1865Franklin House, Highgate Springs.Alternate Title: Gre…Franklin House, Highgate Springs.Alternate Title: Green Mountain sceneryc. 1865Franklin House, Highgate Springs.Alternate Title: Gre…Franklin House, Highgate Springs.Alternate Title: Stereoscopic views of Vermont and other sceneryc. 1865Franklin House, Highgate Springs.Alternate Title: Ste…Franklin House, Highgate Springs.Alternate Title: Stereoscopic views of Vermont and other sceneryc. 1865Franklin House, Highgate Springs.Alternate Title: Ste…Ship Yard Bay, from the east, Highgate Springs.Alternate Title: Stereoscopic views of Vermont and other sceneryc. 1865Ship Yard Bay, from the east, Highgate Springs.Altern…Ship Yard Bay, from the east, Highgate Springs.Alternate Title: Stereoscopic views of Vermont and other sceneryc. 1865Ship Yard Bay, from the east, Highgate Springs.Altern…The landing near Highgate Springs.Alternate Title: Stereoscopic views of Vermont and other sceneryc. 1865The landing near Highgate Springs.Alternate Title: St…
The story

How Highgate came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Highgate.

Read it all →

The Grateful Dead played two shows in Highgate at the Franklin County State Airport in July 1994 and June 1995. An estimated 60,000 people attended in 1994 and an estimated 100,000 in 1995, when Bob Dylan opened and on-site camping was allowed.

In town, there is an egg farm which has 100,000 chickens. In 2008, the farm wanted to double its operation, requiring state permission. Neighbors objected to this increase.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Highgate, 1812 to 2010

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1812Post officeThe Highgate post office opens
  3. 1816Born hereJohn Godfrey Saxe is born here
  4. 1834Post officeThe East Highgate post office opens
  5. 1835Born hereFranklin Johndro is born here
  6. 1836In the archiveMap of the village of Highgate, Franklin County, state of Vermont
  7. 1842Post officeThe Highgate Springs post office opens
  8. 1848Born hereAlexander Christie is born here
  9. 1865In the archiveFranklin House and its surroundings, Highgate Springs. East view.Alternate Title: Stereos…
  10. 1877Born hereWarren Austin is born here
  11. 20th century
  12. 1914On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1936Post officeThe Highgate post office closes
  14. 1963Post officeThe East Highgate post office closes
  15. 21st century
  16. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 3,535
On the map

Highgate on the map, 1914 to 1987

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Highgate. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Highgate on the 1914 USGS mapHighgate on the 1943 USGS mapHighgate on the 1964 USGS mapHighgate on the 1972 USGS mapHighgate on the 1987 USGS map1914St Albans sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Highgate.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Franklin House and its surroundings, Highgate Springs. East view.Alternate Title: Stereoscopic views of Vermont and oth…
Retake this viewFranklin House and its surroundings, Highgate Springs. East view.Alternate Title: Stereoscopic views of Vermont and oth…, c. 1865

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Highgate’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Highgate

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Swanton Covered Railroad Bridge
Swanton Covered Railroad BridgeDouglas & Jarvis Patent Parabolic Truss Iron BridgeSt. John's Episcopal Churdh
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Gothic Revival1
Federal1
Swanton Covered Railroad BridgeStructure
Douglas & Jarvis Patent Parabolic Truss Iron BridgeStructure
St. John's Episcopal ChurdhGothic Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Highgate

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Warren AustinAmerican politician · b. 1877
John Godfrey SaxeAmerican poet · b. 1816
Alexander ChristieAmerican archbishop · b. 1848
Franklin JohndroUnion Army Soldier in the American Civil War · b. 1835
S
Stephen BeyorAmerican politician
Help out

Finish Highgate’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFranklin House and its surroundings, Hi…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Swanton6 historic placesB+FranklinIts storyBSheldon3 historic placesA−

Questions about Highgate’s history

What year was Highgate founded?

The Highgate post office opened in 1812, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Highgate rank for history?

Highgate is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #48 of 71 in Vermont. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Highgate?

Three places: the Swanton Covered Railroad Bridge (listed 1973), the Douglas & Jarvis Patent Parabolic Truss Iron Bridge (1974) and the St. John's Episcopal Churdh (1976).

How old are the homes in Highgate?

31% of Highgate’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.4 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1980.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.